Hydraulic power transmission



May 3, 1949. R. H. SHEPPARD 2,469,085

HYDRAULIC POWER TRANSMISSION Filed Maren 2o, 1944 i g shets-sheet 1 www 'May 3, l94 9. R. H. sHl-:PPARD v HYDRAULIC POWER TRANSMISSION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 20, 1944 1; "Il l 3&1

Patented May 3, 1949 orsi HNBRAULIG LPOWER TRNSMISS'IUN'N Richard Hshppard, Hnover,..Pa`..-

Application fMarcl'i20J1944, Serial No. 527,316 4 Cl'-ims'. (Cl. S05-54)# Tfis,in\zentonrelates .Atoipower plants --Of theel l hydraulic.type.,fiuidtransmissiony in which. the.;v4 outputishait: is.: drivenbyea ,turbine` It.. has for itsprnip'alfobj ectthe provision ot fa hydraulicv transmission whichwillpeovide,infinitely varying v speedsdn one directionsof` rotation, togetherrwith` a neutral .postioneandibeing capable oireversingA theoutput shaft Jwhen thecontrol means is moved..v pastithe' neutral positionw A'SBCODd objesotiofvrtlievv presentA .inventionisuto- .i i sirri1:lify.,surhltransmissionsand.Y to provide.' '.foiv agreate'n speedbf the output. shaft than ofwthev inputshft'land-..Eo. giving.a hightorq-ue. at thee lower i speedsll. Still .furth'e'r .objects lof. "the invvener. tionconcern `the,irnprovemenieofL specic .detail'ssi 5 of th apparatus, and. tliprovision ocertain new combinations oiparts asv particularlylpointed out in the clams:.l

D'scrib'd very briefljlsthe transmission consists.- of vtwo-*spaced torus chambers. nearly )filledv `WitlfiwlcI oiland rotated by and withth'e drive or-engine shaft, The-,fluid rotates ini-two .circular motions,f.e th'rst 'being imparted by the rotation of-the drive shaft and the second being imparted bythe action of the impellen blades and,veentriflgal :i: foce The drivenv turbineiis located between the, twoannuarfchambers and is provided Vwith vanes .Y in "the path of the .rotating 'id' and movable to' provide 'the' desired 'range ofs'peed and direction of thdrven shaft'on Which'th rotor .of theitur 30 binefissecured" Tlierotor vanesof the turbine .i areat'leastonetinnumber greater (or Jess) than th'hnpell'ei'bladesand, maybe'altered in position .f While. tliedevice isinoperation; either manually j.

or -by`fautomatic control, th'e'typel of Whichinay ,3,- i

varywitirtheparticulai' ki'ndi service for which thnrnt1 may be designed.

Figurer isa central section.

Figure4 `2 is-anV elevation ulooking toward the Y 40 drivenlor'output'shaft" Figure 3 isa sectionforrline 3'-3 'of FgureL. thruT thel core'of"theiimpellerchamber to-.illus- 4 I trate'thevane regulatingmeans.

Figure-4 i's a section orrline Lilli of Figure `l. 4

Figurer-'5 isha sectioronline 5;*5 1'of'Figui'e 1 showing ve of the vane moving pinions."

drical 4Amember-2l221f`s`.'ecured as* at 23Min the distant-55.

2 orefrontshelflrfzlcff- Thecfeentrali portionsfroffrthe unitifraref-closedragainstf-ffluid leakage byi'a cover 24%atfitheireari and: by: an oil-retainer ESJiat-tthe frontiftlielatter ireceiving1 the= driven vshaftf'an i* thesleeve which ls'urrounds'and rotatesf With-Siti? Tlier-sty orirear-shellel'Lhasavithin: it la circulario" groove 2 forming .--tbaliv ofwtheimpeller chamber" in which the ioiii orxot'her hydraulicf-fluidrotates. At its cer-iter the :shell-2l 8f' car-riesi -thefoutererace of abalbbeaningdyf the inner 4race!ofvwhcl'i isy mountedonthefdriwen shaft'nearlitsfend, TheM-T second Lshell-l 9 lis `-secured::tofshell nl 8 essais!291:1 andfits `annulaire'groove',` 3|` completes therlfmajoiff partof 1 the "impeller--A chambery, Thisi i'menfoer yfor :i sheiliearries thecore=o1wtorus dspaced from/thee' margin-ofthe.-groove- 3| byf a seriesoflshort and long-blades -32 f-an-dl33whichxcausefthe oil: to flowflf in vthe. direction-l of thefarrowf; Iwhirling:around -f theeore Sillasa centerwA Inftl'iel transmissionillus-ef* trated tvhichis. about: 185Y in''diameter' 'and a fbi-t shrtery inv lengthvthere; lare 34 impellerV blade :n alternatelwlong.. Handmfshort; Jxed equally spaced-'f'A about the shllmasmestfseen1in-Figure 3, -Whichl'f shws these members in relatiorrto the 1mm/able@t vanes. .of the turbine rotor. ,v These-latten vanes'f arespaced 1`0apart so-:thatJn-eaehahalf orelSOSw there is 'one more vanethanthe-fnumberofvblades;L e

T" avoidthe shock. thats-Would occunif the A turbine blades'and i'rnpelle'r blades werelalikewin nuiriber,A eitherwset is made atfleast Aone wgreater-l f' in nurbrthanthe' other.' In.\thiswaythe.great-e est'nurbei 'of bolwer. impulses .perrevolu'tion conH sistnt' wtlim'axrnum smoothness ofmoperatiom--f canb`eseci1red; Thdrivn'shft" 40`t its' endv nearest the fly wh'fel or head' ITturns'inthe ball bearing .f2 Near thisrear point the key or spline 4l secures-ithe"rotorf43"'totlirveh shaftand isheld fn. plao'e b5? fwashr'li t and' natif?! 51. l Fm ,theL hub (flange "jsiof'tlre `'rot'ciii rises 'th'e )plateV 41 -ending.. in v`a Tshapd' perip'li'eraThead 48,lext'ending #beerk tweenthe'fshel'lsfl 8` and 2I"of 'the impeller: unti'f. an d earryngthem'ovabie venes. 50' end 5 l 4 l Tlivaiie's v5l] nd' 'Yarealikexcept that they I vvareoppositely or reversely '"cuifve'd" at their bo't toms#wherebyitliefaction irithetwo vor-tex char-n;V l bers"Wllfbeitlesame Ea'clivane has itsspindle 52 or53":jourrialle'd..intherotor-head 68; and theaL twospnrdleseof aehpaiifarezkeyed r; otherwise. secured-'1"toa'pinio'Brin the centrahrecess .55."1 A All A*"of"`th"e"' 'thi'rtysixfpinios 'are engaged. by a positiiiiig"CgearV 56 n sleeve SVxiallymovablew. alon'gr'the rdrix'fein" shaft fand having a -sixf degree, rotat1v"movement Awith""respect thereto .orreitherL 'vanes thru as much as 180. v are in angular position in neutral setting the flow cient to move the vanes 50 and 5| thru a large arc and is obtained by the pin, roller, and slot connection indicated at 58, 59 and 60. The front face of rotor 43 is centrally recessed slightly to accommodate the end of the sleeve 51 in its extreme left or rear position. It will be noted that the gear 56 is parallel to the disk portion 41 of the rotor and has an extended hub flange tightly fitting the sleeve 51.

The front bearing 64 for the driven shaft 4i) is mounted in a central opening 65 in the sixarmed spider 65 secured to the housing B1 as by the screws E8. This spider also serves to support a bracket 69 which aifords the pivot for the sleeve shifting mechanism by means of which the de` sired speed and direction of rotation of the driven or output shaft 40 is secured.

Ball bearing races for bearing 1l) of the speed changing ring 12 are locked respectively to a reduced seat on sleeve 51 and to the ring 12 which is supported in part by an extension 13 of one of the screws 14 holding the retainer 15 for the bearing 64. The ring 12 has a pair of oppositely directed pins or studs 16 engaged by the slot in the fork 11 pivoted at 18 to the bracket 69 and joined at about the same level to the link 80 by a pivot pin 8|. A raising or lowering movement of the link 8i) is given by plunger 83 threaded to` the -capstan 85 turning in the arm of the spider and in a retaining plate 86 bolted to the arm.

When accurately adjusted the plunger can be locked in place by the knurled lock knob 88. As will be seen, a rocking of the fork 11 will shift the bearing ring 12 and consequently the sleeve,

and this in turn will rotate the sleeve by means of the roller` pin and slot connection with the driven shaft, and this will move all of the turbine When the vanes of oil or other liquid over them will have no tendency to propel them either forward or backward, the friction of ow being overcome by a slight backward setting, that is by tilting the vanes by a few degrees.

Since the hydraulic fluid travels in opposite directions in the two impeller or torus chambers l and the vanes are always at similar angles, there is no tendency to shift the position of the runner or turbine axially so there is no need for thrust bearings. air in the two chambers is all collected at the bottom of the cavities or chambers because of the centrifugal action on the heavier uid such as the oil and the air therefore acts as a cushion allowing for the changes in temperature in the device.

The action of the transmission is as follows: Power from any source turns the y wheel I2 and the drive shaft Il), and with it the impeller unit including the two spaced sets of blades 32 and 33. These alternately short and long blades cause the hydraulic fluid which nearly lls the In use, the small amount of' two torus or impeller chambers to revolve with bers where the friction with the walls is wholly insufficient to cause the fluid to rotate with the unit as it gains in speed. Thus the displacement of the uid in space 21 by the pressure due to centrifugal action, plus the rotation of the fluid confined between the two Sets of blades 32 and 33, causes the hydraulic fiuid to have two circular motions at the same time in each of the two compartments or chambers, the first being imparted by rotation of the drive shaft and in a plane perpendicular to it while the second circular motion is added as the speed increases and is due to the unbalance between the rotating fluid between the blades and the fluid in that portion where there are no blades, and this second rotation will take place in opposite directions in the two torus chambers but always from the blades toward the perimeter. This displacing fluid is, therefore, carried over the turbine vanes 50 and 5I to the portion 21 free of the blades and then downwardly back to the lower edges of lthe longer blades.

If we now assume that the vanes of the turbine are radially positioned, the turbine gradually picks up speed and soon revolves substantiallyk at the same rate as the driving shaft in a well" known manner. The curved bevelling ofthe vanes. indicated at 90, naturally oppositely di-` rected in the two chambers, increases the ten dency of the rotor to follow the impeller when the latter is first starting. When the vanes of the turbine rotor are tilted from the radial position, I

that is, when the receiving edges of the vanes are moved somewhat toward or with thedirection of rotation of the drive shaft and impeller unit, each blade will receive an added impetus by reason of the flow of the hydraulic fluid against and over it. This added force'will, therefore, drive the rotor of the turbine further in the direction of rotation than if the vanes were radial.

If, on the other hand, the receiving edges of the vanes are inclined in the opposite direction, either manually by the mechanism shown, or by automatic control, so that they now are inclined' against the direction of rotation of the drive shaft the speed of the driven shaft will be reduced.

I claim:

1. In a hydraulic 'power transmission for con# necting a drive shaft with a coaxial driven shaft, an impeller unit rotating with the drive shaft comprising a plurality of shells forming two spaced and separate torus chambers, each oval in radial section, and having on the near sides only of the two chambers a series of fixed blades to cause the hydraulic uid to tend to rotate with the unit, an annular core in each chamber to rotor to tilt the vanes with respect to the direction of flow of the fluid, and means for simultaneously moving all of the vanes, whereby to alter the speed and direction of movement of the driven shaft.

2. The device of claim 1 in which each of the vanes is bevelled at the end adjacent the xed blades.

3. In a hydraulic power transmission for con-l necting a drive shaft with a coaxial driven shaft,

an impeller unit rotating with the drive shaft and having therein two spaced and separate torus i chambers and having on the near sides only of a the two chambers a series of fixed blades for conning a portion of the fluid to cause the uid to rotate with the drive shaft, a turbine rotor mounted on the driven shaft and carrying a plurality of spindles extending into each of the two torus chambers, vanes mounted one on each end of each spindle and means for simultaneously tilting all of the vanes to move them to or from a radial position, said means including a gear movable about the axes of the shafts and also shiftable axially.

4. In a hydraulic power transmission for connecting a drive shaft with `a coaxial driven shaft, an impeller unit rotating with the drive shaft and comprising a plurality of shells forming two separate and spaced torus chambers each oval in radial lLross Section with the more pointed end toward the axis. and having on the near side only of each of the two torus chambers a series of xed blades to cause the hydraulic uid to tend to rotate with the unit while leaving the outer side of each of the two torus chambers entirely free, an annular core centrally in each chamber to provide a guiding surface for the iiuid rotating in opposed circular paths in the two torus chambers, a turbine rotor mounted on the driven shaft and extending between the two spaced chambers and carrying a series of movable vanes each `bevelled on its edge nearest the raxis of the shafts, said vanes lying in the path of the revolving fluid within each of the two torus chambers in proximity to the blades and the cores, and axially shiftable means for tilting the vanes to any desired degree.

RICHARD H. SHEPPARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

